San Francisco in the Spring

I'm spending 3 weeks in San Francisco. Most of it is working hard, but there is some time for fun. This was our first day enjoying the sights of this beautiful city. 

We started our day visiting Palo Alto and Stanford where we took in the two new Apple Stores. Both were amazing. We also found the house that Steve Jobs lived in before he passed away. It is in a beautiful neighbourhood, tree lined and full of colourful flowers. Then we headed off to the big city to meet up with some friends. We walked a little, we shopped a little and had some amazing food.

This is just the first in many adventures. I'll keep you posted on all the fun.

Katie, our driver

 The next few pictures are of the streets in Palo Alto. Great little place. We found the most amazing Macaron shop.

The new Apple Store in Palo Alto

Cute puppy on the street.

 The next pictures are of the house that Steve Jobs lived before he passed away.

This is for my husband, Candle Stick Park

 The sights of downtown San Francisco around Union Station.

Inside of the Nike Store

 A trip to the city would not be complete without a stop at Haight & Ashbury. The place where the summer of love started.

It takes a Village to raise a Child

If the saying "It takes a Village to raise a Child" is true, then what happens when that child dies. From what I can see it that "Village" comes together to honour that Child's short life.

Sophie was only 5 years old when she died just before Christmas 2013. Although I didn't know her it is clear she made a big impact on our community. The other day our family went for a walk in our neighbourhood and noticed pink bows lining our tree lined streets. A few of the trees had pink hearts with messages on them. We stopped at each pink heart and read the thoughts of a community mourning the loss of Sophie. It is a beautiful silent tribute to a little girl taken far too soon.

Now, I don't know the family and I can't begin to understand what they are going through. Instead I thought I would share these pictures of the tribute to Sophie. Remember to live each day like it is your last, say I Love You more often, be grateful for the "Village" around you and know they will be there to lean on if you need them.

 Among all of the pink ribbons I saw this beautiful pink bird with pink ribbon in its tail in a tree.

 This little dog sits watching and guarding the ribbons. Maybe they were friends. Maybe he misses her too.

A trip to Granville Island

Since I had to be downtown yesterday for some doctor appointments my daughter and I decided to spend some time at Granville Island before heading home. It had been a long time since our last visit there and there was a lot to see. 

What would a visit to the island be without a few seagulls... I loved the way this one was playing with us. He kept giving the funniest looks.

The best part of the market is all the amazing food on display. The colours and smells are what I miss the most.

When it comes to people watching there is no better place. Here are a few of the faces I captured.

Our family loves Herons. In the fall and winter months we count them on the way home. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this one perched on one of the pilings. The setting just seemed perfect. 

Angry Birds anyone... These birds were part of the sign for Make. They really reminded us of Spring.

Just as we were getting into the car to head home the sun broke through the fog. The skyline, bridge and the Aqua Bus docking just perfect.

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2014!

It was a busy end of 2013. Once I returned from Paris it felt like a whirlwind all the way to the end of December. With the holidays behind us and a new year to experience my goal is to post new pictures at least once a week.

In late fall I had the opportunity to a family photo shoot with Melissa and Craig. Melissa has 3 girls and Craig 2 boys, sounds a little like "The Brady Bunch". Now I'm really showing my age. We had a great time in the park at the end of their street and finished the session in their beautiful house. Here are some of the fun shots from the day.